Tinashe On Achieving Success In The Industry After 10 Years With Her Single "Nasty": 'So Thankful'
Singer Tinashe is basking in the success of her recent single "Nasty."
To date, the 31-year-old's track, released earlier this year, has charted on Billboard's Hot 100 and amassed millions of streams on Spotify. This achievement is significant, as it comes years after Tinashe left her record label, RCA Records, to become an independent artist with Nice Life Recording.
The success of "Nasty" marks a pivotal moment in the star's career, as it's her first major hit in a decade. Tinashe's last chart-topping single was 2014's "2 On" featuring Schoolboy Q. Despite consistently releasing music over the years, none of her subsequent singles had performed as well. If "Nasty" continues its upward trajectory, it may finally break this streak.
"Nasty" gained widespread popularity mainly due to a viral X (formerly known as Twitter) post featuring an edited clip of social media user Nate Dj Winer dancing to the song. Although the single wasn't playing in the original video, the altered upload captivated audiences due to its seamless pairing of Nate's dance moves and Tinashe's track.
Since then, the "Needs" vocalist has added her spin to the viral video by stitching it on TikTok and dancing to the clip. In an interview with Variety, Tinashe discussed how self-belief and perseverance through various setbacks have contributed to her recent triumph.
In the conversation, the “Talk To Me Nice” songstress revealed that the acclaim she has received for 'Nasty' was unexpected, but she remains grateful to those who recognize her craft.
“It’s amazing. I’m just so thankful. I was saying this to my mom the other day, 10 years later, who would have thought? And I didn’t need this moment. I came to the place where I didn’t need that validation anymore. And I think that makes it even better, because it’s like holy s–t, the universe just worked in such mysterious ways,” she said.
Further into the interview, Tinashe disclosed that she first realized her song was going viral when her peers and others began contacting her.
“I noticed a difference almost immediately because I started getting hit up by my peers, and I feel like people see my content all the time, but it’s very rare I’ll get a DM from Meghan Trainor being like, ‘I love that song,’ or Kehlani or Tyla,” she stated. “There was a group of people within the first week that I dropped it that were messaging me being like that’s that shit. So to me, I was like, OK, this is different. Unusual. It’s been a snowball avalanche since then.”
The "Bouncin" singer credited her current success to her resilience and consistency in releasing music and visuals.
“I definitely think that everything that I’ve done up to now, all those grinding it out moments where I just had my head down and was just putting out the best music I could and being really consistent and making great visuals and things like that, it’s all led up to this,” she said. “I don’t think it’s just this. Everything that I’ve done really laid the groundwork, and the people who have been quietly supporting at all these different platforms that have been ‘waiting’ for me to have my moment, they can all activate now. I feel like everything has led up to this, so I’m thankful for both this moment and also the journey it took to get here.”
Toward the end of the discussion, the “Remember When” singer expressed that this achievement has reinforced her belief that anything is possible and emphasized the importance of living in the present and trusting the universe.
“Nasty” is available on all streaming platforms.
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Feature image by John Nacion/WireImage
'Love Island USA' Star JaNa Craig On The Reality Of Black Women On Dating Shows
Love Island USA just wrapped up its sixth season, and it has been the talk of the town. According to Nielsen, it's the No. 1 show on streaming, proving it's just as entertaining as the UK version. One of the reasons this season has been successful is due to the authentic relationships formed between the islanders in the villa.
You have the sisterhood between Serena Page, JaNa Craig, and Leah Kateb, aka PPG, and the real relationship moments between couples like Serena Page and Kordell Beckham, who were named the winners of this season. The other finalists include Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi, Nicole Jacky and Kendall Washington, and JaNa Craig and Kenny Rodriguez.
While JaNa made it to the finale with her boo Kenny, her journey in the villa was far from perfect. Viewers saw the Las Vegas native get her heart stomped on a few times after many of her connections didn't work out.
At one point, it even looked like she was getting kicked off the island. While she had a lot of support from people watching the show, it was clear that she was in a position that many Black women on reality dating shows find themselves in: not being desired.
It has been an ongoing conversation among Black women watching reality dating shows as we see time and time again that non-Black women or racially ambiguous-looking women are often chosen over Black women, especially dark-skinned women. In a discussion with Shadow and Act, JaNa opened up about the support she received from viewers.
@cineaxries i love them 🤧 #janacraig #janaandkenny #loveislandusa #foryou #peacock #loveisland #janaloveisland #xybca #kennyloveisland #janaedit #loveislandedit #janaedits #loveislandusaedit #viral #loveislandusaseason6 #foryoupage #peacocktv
"You know what’s so crazy? I’m so grateful, because when I got my phone, the way they’re making us The Princess and The Frog…I felt honored. I will be that beautiful chocolate queen if I need to be. And the comments like 'beautiful chocolate girl,' I’m like, all Black women are beautiful. There’s the whole light skin versus dark skin, which breaks my heart. I just really don’t understand that, but I will take pride and represent us well," she said.
She also candidly discussed her experience as a dark-skinned Black woman on the show. JaNa and Serena had been in the villa since the first episode, and they were the only dark-skinned Black women there. As new men aka bombshells came into the villa, they found themselves not being wanted by many of them.
"Me and Serena literally had a heart-to-heart before Kenny came in and she’s like, I just don’t think it’s fair that the Black girls don’t get enough fair chance.' Every islander that came in, we were not their top pick. And we just [thought], maybe because we’re Black girls, and the dark-skinned Black girls. It sucked," she said.
"I’m like, 'Serena, we know what we bring to the table. We’re great personalities. A guy’s going to come in for us.' That’s when we manifested what we wanted, and that’s when I manifested Kenny."
@ashleyvera__ We love to see it 🥰 #loveislandusa #loveisland #loveisland2024 #janaandkenny #loveislandseason6 #peacock #realitytv #fypage
After many failed connections, Kenny came in and immediately turned JaNa's experience around. America watched the model get the care and attention that she deserved.
"I’m not going to hold you. When I was in the bottom for a quick second, I’m like, ‘There’s no way America doesn’t [ride for us]. I know Black America had to ride for me, but maybe because I’m a dark-skinned … hmm … maybe … you feel me? And you saw the Casa Amor lineup. Beautiful, beautiful light-skinned [women]," she said.
"We looked at each other like, 'Damn, Love Island did their big one with this. And every single Casa Amor girl was like, 'You girls are gorgeous, you guys are stunning.' They expressed love. You guys are beautiful and it felt good."
Although she and Kenny came in third place, JaNa is happy that she got her man in the end. "I think the thing I’m most grateful about is the fact that this is a beautiful love story like you guys complement each other and there’s no hate toward the skin color. It’s all love and support. I love that more than anything," she said.
"That’s why I was like, 'I won,' even though I didn’t win. And the fact that Serena won, we were like, 'Yeah, run that.' Either way, we won. And I love the support from all communities."
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As I’ve been going through this perimenopausal season of mine, although pretty much all that I’ve had to deal with is erratic periods (thank goodness!), as someone who used to be able to set my watch to menstrual cycles, it really has convinced me that we, as women, should get our hormonal levels checked. The reason why I say this is because, if it does not have to do with our menstrual cycles, things like acne, hair loss, and even unexplained weight gain, are also some pretty clear indicators that, hormone-wise, something is a bit…off. Know what else can be a potential sign of a hormone-related issue? Not being able to orgasm.
Yep, I’m back here today, once more, ready to discuss yet another reason why climaxing may be easier for some than others because, as I pretty much said in the article, “Ladies, Please Stop Pressuring Yourself Over Vaginal Orgasms,” there are several things other than sexual chemistry, a man’s performance and a couple’s compatibility, that can make having an orgasm…challenging. For instance, as I said in that particular article, it could come down to basic anatomy in the sense that your clitoris and vaginal opening may be far apart (which can make having a vaginal orgasm difficult).
Or, as I just stated a second ago, you may need to see where your estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels are (especially if not being able to orgasm has only recently become a problem for you). Or, it could be that your genes are the underlying issue. Your genes? Yep. Believe it or not, there is also scientific research that says a part of the reason why some women can cum with ease while others seem to struggle could be due to what’s happening up in their DNA.
I’ll explain.
What Your DNA Has to Do with Your Sexual Pleasure
GiphyGoodness. Talk about putting a whole new spin on Victoria Monét's, “On My Mama” song. Yep, believe it or not, there are studies that say that having orgasms has quite a bit to do with one’s genetic material. See, some intel states that if a woman does have a problem with “getting there,” she might want to do some digging into her family tree because there is a significant amount of evidence to support the fact that if she can’t climax, her sisters, mother and grandmother(s) may have a hard time in that area too.
And how much of an impact does DNA make? Some say as much as a whopping 60 percent! A part of the study came from the result of testing identical twins vs. fraternal ones and seeing the sexual commonalities that they had. What they discovered is the identical twins had a lot of orgasming or not orgasming in common.
Now, I’ll be honest with you — there is a lot of science involved in all of this including things like what your dopamine levels (which plays a role in regulating pleasure) may be genetically if you have a predisposition to depression and anxiety; what your androgen levels (which are a type of sex hormone) are, and where the exact location of your G-spot is (although people are still debating if there is even such a thing; for the record, close to 60 percent of women believe that they do indeed have one).
If you add to this what I already said about your clit-to-vaginal opening factor (which definitely is an anatomy issue) — can you see how it really does make sense that your DNA plays a role in your (peak) sexual pleasure (as far as orgasms go)?
And why should you know all of this? Well, if you are climaxing easily — you know, you’re the kind of person where it really doesn’t take much to get you going — and you’ve always wondered why, your gene pool would like a bit of praise. On the other hand, if you’ve been doing all that you can to either have orgasms or to experience more consistent ones…try and give yourself (and your partner) a bit of a break. As you can see, some of what’s going on has nothing to do with you — or him. And does that mean that you just have to surrender to never “reaching the mountaintop?” No. I’ll get more into that towards the end of all of this.
Before sharing some (hopefully) helpful hacks, I first want to bring up one more thing that I found while reading up on this topic; something that caused me to partly chuckle and partly roll my eyes.
Something Else That I Found to Be…Interesting
GiphyOkay, so, although I personally think that something in the buttermilk ain’t clean (as far as tone goes) with a particular article that also touches on this topic, some other intel claims that another reason why some women cum easier and quicker than others is that — get this — they are more willing to settle for “low-quality men” (somebody sounds like a hater to me but…).
What’s the connection? Well, it would appear that, once upon a time, a part of the indication that a man would be an overall good provider and that he could be relied upon is if he could bring a woman to an orgasm. The theory is that since it takes a woman around twice the amount of time to have an orgasm as a man, if a guy is willing to put his needs aside to make sure that hers are met, then he is worthy of a relationship — and that a woman should require a man to “show up” (and some might say show out as well) in this way.
I don’t see a problem with any of that — in theory. Two things to consider, though: one, implying that the women who don’t need “the compromise” are settling when it comes to men is pretty close to ridiculous. Two, it really is time out for thinking that only men are responsible for women having orgasms. In fact, all of the stuff that I said about genetics and climaxing? That wasn’t just about when two people are engaged in sexual activity; many women who can’t have an orgasm aren’t able to do so via masturbation as well — and since we all know that it consists of having sex alone…well…that can’t be on the fellas, now can it?
Still, there is a takeaway from all of this that should be emphasized: If orgasms don’t come easily and naturally to you, do make sure that you have a partner who doesn’t Elmo shrug that off. Because although you can have great sex without an orgasm, a good partner will want to do what they can to help you get the absolute most out of intimacy with them — orgasms included.
With all of this out of the way, if you sense that a lot of what’s been standing in the way between you and some or more orgasms is indeed your DNA, what can be done? I’m glad that you asked.
What You Should Do If You Are Someone Who Has “Gene Pool” Challenges?
GiphyOkay, I’m gonna be real with you — DNA is DNA. So, I’m not gonna sit up here and act like there are some overnight miracle cures in this department. At the same time, though, because some of this is simply about having lower hormone levels than others naturally do, there are a few hacks to keep in mind.
If your dopamine levels are what’s on the lower side, it’s important that you get an amino acid known as tyrosine into your system. It’s beneficial because it is what dopamine is actually made from. Some foods that contain tyrosine include protein-enriched ones like beef, chicken, and fish, as well as white beans, squash and pumpkin seeds, and wild rice. Other things that can kick your dopamine levels up a few notches are exercise, reducing your sugar intake, meditating, listening to some of your favorite (non-triggering) music, and getting no less than 6-8 hours of rest every night.
When it comes to things like depression and anxiety, did you know that some studies say that around 50 percent of depression-related causes are considered to be genetic and that anxiety has some heredity tied to it, too? Just one more reminder that if you’re struggling in these areas, it’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
See your physical doctor (so that they can check your hormones and other aspects of your health) and consider also speaking with a reputable therapist and, when it comes to sex-related stuff, a sex therapist as well (check out “Have You Ever Wondered If You Should See A Sex Therapist?”).
As far as your androgen levels go, although different forms of therapy are available to get it on track since testosterone is the main focus when it comes to androgen, consider doing things like lowering your stress levels, getting more ginseng and zinc into your system, staying at a healthy weight, consuming less alcohol and refined grains (because they can mess with your blood sugar levels and that can jack your testosterone up).
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Y’all, knowledge really is power, and one of the things that I appreciate about findings like these is they’re a reminder to stop pressuring yourself when it comes to things like orgasms. Contrary to popular belief (or assumption), climaxing is not a black-and-white issue. Many layers go into why it’s easy for some and…not so easy for others.
And since one of those layers just happens to be your genetic material — please don’t beat yourself (or your partner) up (anymore). Do some (more) research. See your doctor and/or a therapist. Be patient with the process of learning more about what your body naturally needs. And with a few tweaks here and there, you never know what could happen — how you can buck your DNA all the way, chile.
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Featured image by Giphy